Top-10 Music Soundtracks of 2007

Wish I could get to choose Top-15 albums of the year rather than conventional Top-10; but then one has to live with the constraints! So here we go.

Note: Guru and Salaam E Ishq do not find a place in the list since the soundtracks released in 2006 and had found a mention in 'Best Soundtracks' feature last year. The Top Ten albums are listed alphabetically.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa (Music: Pritam)

2007 was clearly Pritam's year. Period. From January to December, across the charts, Pritam has dominated the music scene. Rightly labeled as a 'hit-machine' even by his contemporaries and rivals, Pritam made the entire nation sway to the tune of 'Hare Krishna Hare Raam'. Rest of the album was quite good too but songs like 'Labon Ko', 'Allah Hafiz', 'Sajda' and 'Lets Rock Soniye' got sidelined due to entire focus resting on Akshay's promotional video. Music lovers weren't complaining though!

This was one soundtrack that deserved to go an extra distance but lost out due to non-performance of the film. It was always a risky preposition to have number of songs in a single album knowing very well that except for a song or two (Title song, 'Jaaniye'), most of the tracks would be relegated to a line or two as a part of background score in each of the 10 stories. New composer Gourov Dasgupta dominated the album with Shafqat Ali Khan, Anand Raaj Anand and Bappa Lahiri also pitching in. Gulzar's poetry was an added bonus too, hence making Dus Kahaniyaan one of the most versatile albums of 2007.

Jab We Met (Music: Pritam, Sandesh Shandilya)

To think about it, this soundtrack didn't even have a name till around 3 weeks before it's arrival on stands. A surprise super hit, both when it comes to the movie as well as the music, Jab We Met has made history in the last quarter of 2007. Each and every song from the film has achieved a chartbuster status and while 'Mauja Hi Mauja', 'Nagaada' and 'Yeh Ishq Hai' are the songs blazing strong up North in all celebration events, 'Aao Milo Chalo', 'Tum Se Hi' and 'Aaoge Jab Tum' (Sandesh Shandilya) were for the hearts truly in love. Jab We Met would easily stand as one of the Top-10 soundtracks ever by Pritam!

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

The film may have been one of the strangest of 2007 but no one complained when it came to music. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom featured a rocking soundtrack by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy which had an intrinsic Indian feel to it, in spite of high-on-western-orchestra arrangements. Title song featured on Amitabh Bachchan was a clincher though 'Ticket To Hollywood' and the climax medley of 'Jhoom' were popular too. One wishes though that 'Bol Na Halke Halke' should’ve got the kind of recognition it truly deserved.

Life In A...Metro (Music: Pritam)

Pritam rules from the top in 2007! He was one composer who took up the challenge to do something different from the routine and combined with film maker Anurag Basu to not just create an entire soundtrack based on rock genre but went ahead and even created a band. Result was astonishing to say the least as lovers of new-age music feasted on 'Alvida', 'In Dino', 'Baatein Kuch Ankahee Si', 'O Meri Jaan' and 'Rishtey'. Cynics may have termed the soundtrack of Life In A...Metro to have sounded same from start to finish but this exactly was the beauty of this Pritam album. It maintained a similar style throughout and still conveyed different emotions through each of the tracks. Truly, the album of the year!

Namastey London (Music: Himesh Reshammiya)

'Himesh Reshammiya in one more project' - and so one thought! But the album turned out to be surprisingly refreshing for the worst of Reshammiya detractors. Along with Javed Akhtar saab, the composer/singer came up with some of his best tunes that were quite un-Reshammiya - a compliment for the team associated with Namastey London. 'Chakna Chakna' may have been purely for the masses but songs like 'Main Jahaan Rahoon', 'Viraaniya' and 'Yehi Hota Pyaar' touched hearts across segments.

Om Shanti Om (Music: Vishal-Shekhar)

Vishal-Shekhar were consistent throughout 2007 with music from Cash, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd and Ta Ra Rum Pum gaining good popularity. However, when it came to their positioning in the charts, they got a great thrust with Om Shanti Om making a huge dent on the stands. The album rose to the top position the moment it arrived and ever since then has been registering great sales. Though SRK's six-pack abs made 'Dard-E-Disco' most popular song of the album, it was 'Deewangee Deewangee' which was the best composition of the lot. Vishal-Shekhar were uniquely different from what they had done in the past, as demonstrated though songs like 'Aankhon Mein Teri', 'Dhoom Taana', 'Main Agar Kahoon', 'Jag Soona Soona Lage' and 'Dastaan-E-Om Shanti Om', Yes, they all have been hits!

Partner (Music: Sajid-Wajid)

Re-discovery of 2007 was the composer-jodi of Sajid-Wajid. They came up with the biggest project of their career and result was for everyone to see. They stuck to the formulaic soundtrack that had made many a David Dhawan films successful in the decade gone by. Presence of songs like 'Do You Wanna Partner', 'Dupatta', 'Soni De Nakhre', 'You'Re My Love' and 'Maria Maria' may have been questioned by many who were looking for some unique sound in this part of the century but hardcore music buffs and Salman-Govinda fans were willing listeners!

Taare Zameen Par (Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

A late riser, Taare Zameen Par finally got it's due at just the right time - Thankfully! Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy forgot all about the work they had put in their 'dhin-chaak' soundtracks for the likes of Johnny Gaddaar, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Heyy Babyy, Salaam E Ishq and many more and concentrated on telling stories through a child's point of view. The result is for everyone to see as there no audience who didn’t weep when songs like 'Maa', 'Mera Jahaan' and 'Taare Zameen Par' were heard along with the narrative.

The Train (Music: Mithoon)

The Train heralded the arrival of a new composer who made his presence felt in a big way with songs like 'Woh Ajnabee', 'Mausam' and 'Beete Lamhein' turning out to be chartbusters. Though Mithoon got into the thick of things last year too with songs from Bas Ek Pal and Anwar becoming popular, it was The Train which announced his arrival loud and clear. Presence of a certain Emraan Hashmi in the film helped too!

Other notable mentions:

While music of Johnny Gaddaar defied norms, Heyy Babyy stuck to the basics and came up with an entertaining massy soundtrack. Saawariya worked in a major way with the class audience, while 'Aap Kaa Surroor - The Moviee targeted just the opposite side of the fence. Awarapan had a couple of superb tunes too whereas Khoya Khoya Chand succeeded in getting one nostalgic about the era gone by. Number of singles worked too, with ‘Chak De India' [Chak De India] sitting at the top followed by 'It's Rocking' [Kya Love Story Hai], 'Kitni Der Tak' [Delhii Heights] and 'Billo Rani' [Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal].